I've read a number of threads on this subject in the past couple days, and have yet to see anyone remark on this. The pastor needs a body guard? Not in any church I've ever attended or visited.
Now, I realize this is one of those 'mega' churches we hear about. But what makes them any different? Why would this pastor feel compelled to have protection?
All “mega” churches in my area have some sort of security in place, just because the crowds are so big (and the odds of incident are higher).
We have an off duty local cop that hangs around in uniform.
Now, I realize this is one of those ‘mega’ churches we hear about. But what makes them any different? Why would this pastor feel compelled to have protection?
You might want to pose this question to pastor John Heggi! When the gunman aimed the revolver at the pastor and it did not fire.
Up until this happened to pastor Haggi, he had no body guards.
I posted this on another thread on the same subject. Churches in general, and large churches in particular, attract troubled people who need God's help. Some of these people are mentally ill; others are fleeing from punitive ex-spouses; others have criminal backgrounds and/or drug problems and are trying with varying degrees of success to get their lives right. Such people can bring danger and violence to a church themselves or can attract loony contacts, because the church is the one place the ex knows where to find them every week at the same time. Drug and alcohol outreach programs churches sometimes run may attract emotionally unstable people, by definition.
I attend a church that in the past twenty years has grown to be a mega-church (on the low end of the scale of mega-churches). The pastor has been threatened repeatedly. Enough money is collected in tithing each week to attract criminals. There have been many security problems involving stalkers, ex-husbands, crazy people. So there is a very strong security presence there, involving both uniformed and plain-clothes off dutycops and at least one federal agent I know of.
With a congregation that size the collection plate must be able to support a small nation. I would suspect that is one of the reasons they need armed security. Plus just having that many people together means an increased chance of personal conflict and the occasional nut cases that statistically must be there.
-perhaps because the Holy Spirit was guiding their decisions....to save them from destruction? This ONE instance where more tragedy was averted is the very thing many on this forum have wished to happen to prove the need for an armed citizenry........perhaps our Creator is still guiding our nation.
It is a pleasant change from the many threads of despair when we all speculated on what would happen IF someone had a gun to protect themselves with. THIS shooting is a real mile marker in the landscape of the sickos with guns killing our children and loved ones trapped in gunfree zones.